Yo-Yos

All the kids these days are always shouting “YOYO”, which I think stands for, “you only yo-yo once”. While historians believe that the yo-yo was invented in ancient Greece around 2,500 years ago, the modern day yo-yos’ roots are in Ohio. The first patent for the yo-yo in the United States was issued to Cincinnati residents, James Haven and Charles Hettrick in 1866. The patent was originally under the name “whirligig” but was more commonly known as the yo-yo.

In the early 1900′s, Donald Duncan purchased the rights for the toy and moved the Duncan Yo-Yo manufacturing plant to Middlefield, Ohio in Geauga County. Duncan is the most popular yo-yo brand in the world, selling approximately 85 percent of yo-yos in the United States. The company has sold over a billion toys since its establishment. The Duncan brand is now part of the Flambeau company, but is still headquartered in Middlefield today.